Rival of the Rival
by Lupeh
Summary: Haruka, having embarked upon her Pokemon quest as a young teen, has kept her promise to her family to return to attend high school and train at home for three years. Reconnecting with Yuuki, Haruka expects her high school days to be dull. Wrong again.


From birth to childhood, there are small celebrations and events acknowledged just for the sake of entertainment and tradition—the first Christmas, the first day of pre-school, and so forth. However, as one ages, these events are less and less recognized, holding less meaning then they had in previous years. One event, however, would never lose its significance—not to mention the pointless worrying and over-obsession. Yes, to put it simply, this event was the dreaded first day of high school.

For any normal teen, this was the beginning of the end of childhood and the first step into adulthood. However, Haruka, our heroine of this story, was definitely not… normal.

* * *

Warmth. Warmth was the thing to concentrate on. All the thoughts of change were smothered by the warmth of the quilt and the peaceful silence that the youth laid in. Today was the day—the day that things would change for better or worse. Sure, that was all dandy, but rising to meet the day prior to the sun even peaking over the horizon was not so tempting.

Softness graced Haruka's cheek as she turned lazily to her side and let out a content sigh. It was a serene feeling, laying in the warmth and silence. If only it could-

"Haruka! You're going to be late if you don't get your butt out of bed," cried a female voice from outside of the teen's room. Scrunching her eyes together, Haruka whimpered.

"Oka-san, I'll be up soon..." she answered pathetically, lazily opening one eye to glance at the clock. 6:30. 'I have an hour, right?' she sighed.

_Bam!_ The door was then thrust open, revealing an older woman with brunette hair and blue eyes that held a pot and spoon—Mitsuko, Haruka's mother. Vigorously beating the spoon against the pot, an awful racket filled the room, causing the azure-eyed youth to reveal herself from underneath the covers and glare at the creator of the racket.

Mitsuko giggled, ceasing the noise to gaze upon her daughter's expression which was a mix of annoyance and exasperation. "Good, my darling. I see you're finally up. Breakfast is in 20 minutes, so you better be ready unless you want Masato and your father to eat all of the pancakes."

A smile twitched at the corner of Haruka's mouth before her expression lit up. Yes, 'pancakes' was the magical word that could brighten any morning. Lurching forward towards the bathroom, the brunette teen tumbled on the floor, feet having tangled in the quilt. Mitsuko, having not left yet, giggled at her kin's clumsiness.

"Dear, you still haven't outgrown your lack of coordination? It's amazing that you can train your pokemon to be graceful, but not your own two feet," the older woman grinned, receiving a scowl from Haruka who shuffled to her feet.

Seeking an escape from her mother's playful taunting, the girl pushed open the bathroom door with her hip and strolled in. Glancing at the mirror, her eyes widened at the monstrous bed-head that seemed to consume her entire noggin. How Mitsuko missed toying with her about this, she did not know. Instantly, Haruka's hand grabbed at her silver hairbrush and began briskly pulling it through the shafts of hair that towered above where they should.

Having discovered her efforts were of no avail, she quickly pulled it back into a messy bun and continued her morning routine with brushing her teeth, dressing, and longing for her bed. Having completed all of that, Haruka observed herself in front of the bathroom mirror once more, brushing gently at the pleat of her dark navy-blue skirt. Spinning around in childish delight, the teen posed in model-like positions, admiring her general appearance in the blue-gray uniform until a soft knock sounded on the door.

"Onee-chan, are you finished _yet?_" Masato's voice sounded from the other side of the door, a note of annoyance filling his voice. Rolling her eyes, Haruka opened the door to the onyx-eyed pre-teen. Sleepily, he glanced at his sister for a moment before silently brushing past her.

"Yeah, yeah. Good morning to you too, otouto," the brunette grimaced, suddenly graced by the sweet smell of pancakes the wafted from downstairs. For a moment, she savored the smell, imagining its sweet texture and-

"Haruka, leave already." Masato murmured, breaking into her thoughts.  
"Why should I?" Haruka grinned, obviously toying with her younger sibling. Even as a pre-teen, he was serious and a know-it-all.  
Masato raised his right brow, a surprised expression coming to his face. "Do you really want to know, Onee-chan?" he questioned. Haruka grinned, nodding.  
A half-smile tugged at the boy's lips. "Because…" he paused "I have to pee."

A streak of red covered Haruka's face as she quickly scrambled out of the bathroom. The boy grinned at his apparent victory. One of many, at least.

* * *

Following her nose down to the dinning room, Haruka's gaze rested upon a stack of warm, fluffy pancakes that cried out to her. Frozen in awe, the azure-eyed girl smiled goofily, hesitantly taking the plate and sitting at the end of the table before carefully cutting into the golden disks. For a moment, she debated whether to eat them in how they looked so perfect and crispy and...

Suddenly, Haruka's better judgment came back to her as she bit into the piece she had cut before gobbling the rest down. Ten pancakes later, the teen was startled by Senri, her father, when he tapped her on the shoulder.

"Is this your last meal, or are you nervous about school?" he questioned, laughing as his daughter pouted.

"I'm not nervous, Otou-san. It's just... Oka-san makes really good pancakes!" she grinned, pushing her plate forward and patting her stomach in sign of her finished breakfast. Senri laughed at this, nudging his daughter's shoulder and telling her to take her plate to the kitchen. Without complaints, Haruka obliged, momentarily returning to have her school bag thrust in her hands.

Haruka blinked, frowning at the bag. It wasn't anything special, and the event it signified wasn't what she hoped for. "Have a good day, Haruka. " Senri nodded, ruffling her bangs and shuffling her to the door. Passing her a house key, he sent her off into the world, annoyingly enough.

Haruka stood on the porch for a moment, taking the key and shoving it into the pocket of her school bag. Her high school was a short-walking distance from Littleroot, but truthfully, her bearings weren't straight just yet. Walking across the lawn, she paused near the mailbox and glanced from side-to-side, debating mentally whether it was right or left of her residence.

Caught in this mental debate, she was surprised when her vision went black.  
"Guess who," a cheerful male voice entered her thoughts. "Yuuki!" she cried, seizing her childhood friend in an embrace.

"My, my, Haru. You're sure friendly in the mornings" the crimson-eyed boy laughed, returning the embrace before gazing upon her. A slight blush rose to his cheeks.

"Haru-chan looks so cute~" Yuuki chuckled, watching her azure-eyes widen and a blush engulf her face. "Y-Yuuki!" she cried, embarrassed without even attempting to conceal it.

Yuuki smiled, offering his arm. "May I escort you to school, O hime-sama (Princess)?"  
Haruka rolled her eyes, taking his hand in her own. "I see you haven't changed a bit since we last saw each other"

The raven-haired boy grinned. "Never will, Haru, but you adore me just the same, so I intend to stay like this. After all, I did miss you while you were off on your journeys for four years. "

Haruka nodded thoughtfully. It was true that during her early years, she had set off on her Pokemon journey and had become a well-known coordinator. However, she had made a promise to come back home prior to her fifteenth birthday and attend high school. It wasn't as luxurious as traveling and competing with her rivals, Shuu and Haarii, but a promise was a promise. Having received a squeeze on the hand, the brunette gazed up at her childhood friend who smiled at her reassuringly. Yes, even if she was without her rivals, she could make it through with Yuuki at her side.

Fleeting thoughts of her emerald-eyed rival, Shuu, filled her head for a moment more. 'He's probably off in Sinnoh or back in LaRousse by now. It's unlikely I'll see him again for another three years," she sighed, surprised when she glanced back up and took in her surroundings.

Her thoughts had occupied her head the entire walk and suddenly she and Yuuki were on the campus. Dropping his hand, she turned to gaze upon him, failing to miss the slightest disappointment in his expression. Ignoring it, she smiled.

"Yuuki, let's go see which classes we're in!" Haruka piped cheerfully. Mirroring her elated act, the male followed suit as she dragged him towards where the class listings were posted. Many of the students congregated near the board, gazing at their own placement and either groaning with disappointment or cheering over the thought of being placed with their friends.

Haruka's eyes scanned the board, picking out her name and class with ease.  
"1-A," she piped, turning to her friend who then frowned. "1-B," he stated, disappointment not evading her this time either.

"Not to worry, Yuuki. I'm sure we'll see each other a lot anyways. We're on the same campus and right next door to each other, after all," she soothed. The slightest of hope entered the boy's expression.

"You're right, Haru. May I walk you to-" Yuuki began, suddenly interrupted as someone brushed in front of him, stopped at the board and turned around with a smirk on his face. Haruka's eyes widened as she gazed upon the very familiar figure with sharp green-eyes and matching jade hair. Flicking his bangs away from his eyes, the stranger interrupted Yuuki once again.

"That won't be necessary, friend. I'll escort this girl to class, seeing how we both have the same homeroom," he nodded, a smirk still plastered on his face. Haruka's eyes were even wider at this point when she finally managed to muster his name.

"Sh-Shuu?!"

* * *

**Lupeh: **Bwahaha. I am cruel c:  
I know, I know. I should be working on my other fics, but as soon as my fingers touched the keyboard, this story began to type itself. It's similar to that high school cliche' dribble, but we're still keeping the Pokemon element to the story and acknowledging Haruka's journey previous to her high school days.

I like love triangles, and really like both Frantic/Hoennshipping and Contestshipping, so we'll have to see how this ends.  
Yuuki is such a sweetie, and Shuu is a heart throb, but who will win Haruka's heart?

Ufufufufufu.  
You'll have to review to find out c:


End file.
